Walking with Shadows
by HunterBerserkerWolf
Summary: Cursed the day of his birth with the Kyuubi, Naruto also gains a set of unlikely allies. With new allies, new abilities, watch as Naruto reminds everyone that Night is the time of the Shinobi
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, what's happening? This is a new story that I want to work on and receive some feedback for. I'll be taking my time with it, simply because that's all I really have right now.

This is technically a crossover, sort of. I read a book a few years ago about a human having demons on her as tattoos and I just can't remember the name of the book or the author, so I'm having to go a little blind with all that I remember and for that I apologize.

My laptop sort of died on me, so I can't work on any other stories, all of which I have partial chapters done on, so I'm forced to work on this for the hour I'm at school before my class starts for the day.

Summary: Cursed the day of his birth with the Kyuubi, Naruto receives an unexpected gift of from a group of unlikely allies. With new allies, new abilities, watch as Naruto reminds everyone why the Night is ruled by Shinobi.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything this is crossed over with. I make no profit from writing this story. I can't even say I own a computer anymore.

Chapter 1

In the distance, he could see a mighty orange fox swishing its long nine tails around, attacking something hidden by the trees and leaves. He could tell it was a demon by the energy source alone. He gave a raspy breath as he clutched his arm against his stomach and continued forward.

Energy, he was in dire need of it. And the demon fox was just bursting with energy. He could use all of that energy to sustain himself, maybe another week or two.

He raced along the ground, drawing deep from within. He had been running and going for nearly a month already and he needed a recharge.

Suddenly, as though it had never been there in the first place, the demon fox's energy vanished. He slowed his quickened pace as he came to a clearing. Residual energy was in the air and the ground at the clearing and he breathed in deeply of it. The demonic stench was permeating everything.

He went over to the crying babe, and looked at it. He leaned in and sniffed a bit. He could smell the fox's stench on the child. He turned away for a moment and looked over the dead man and woman, dead or dying.

He was so hungry. He was taught to waste not, want not. He wanted to devour the bodies.

Unfortunately, he felt powerful energy sources coming towards the clearing. If the bodies vanished, someone might get suspicious.

He didn't have the energy to fight off any attackers; he didn't have much energy to continue on.

He glanced over to the crying babe.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He peered down upon the child once more. They had, for as long as he cared to remember, always bonded to either each other or a female host. His hand moved over his body, peeling off a black shadowy mist before he moved it onto the child.

Almost as though they were extensions of the seal on the child's stomach, the shadowy mist formed into a black tattoo. Five more soon joined the first, covering the child's chest, back, legs, and even the face.

His brothers were safe, but without him they would be lost. He was the 'brain' of the group. He breathed out and lowered himself down, turning to a black mist that melded with the boy's body. They were all safe, his brothers were asleep. They could rest and regain their energy from the child.

The tattoos moved inwards, drawing away from the body and covering over the intricate seal on the child's naval. It was like they weren't even there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived on the scene with several of his most trusted ANBU. He had Enma, the monkey king summon, in his staff form in one hand. He even wore his battle armor. His ANBU were just as prepared as he was their various swords in hand.

The former Hokage moved over towards the deceased bodies of his successor and his wife. He knelt down on the ground, looking to the smiling faces, even in death and drew their young crying son from their grasps. He gently rocked the boy as Enma walked up from behind him.

"**The barrier fell when the passed Hiruzen."** Enma said as he stood just behind Sarutobi, looking on with a pang of sadness in his heart at the fall of Minato. The blonde had such promise.

Hiruzen moved out of the way as some ANBU prepared a stretcher for Kushina and for Minato. Hiruzen felt his heart clench for the young blonde in his arms. He couldn't keep it a secret, as much as he desired to.

His rival and his two teammates were too knowledgeable about Jinchuriki to just let it go.

Hiruzen sighed softly as he looked to the young blonde in his arms who was looking up at him with Minato's eyes, despite having the facial structure of Kushina. "You're a good boy Naruto." Hiruzen said softly. "I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe, that I promise you."

Enma looked on at Hiruzen. "**Even you cannot keep him perfectly safe Hiruzen."**

The aged former Hokage nodded as he bounced Naruto a bit more. "I know Enma, but I will do my best. Can I trust on you and the other monkeys to help from time to time?"

Enma nodded softly. "**Count on it Hiruzen, and I would talk to your student about maybe getting some toads involved."**

Hiruzen nodded softly. He would have to take up the mantle of Hokage once more then, just to keep the boy safe from his war hungry rival. That wasn't quite right, but Hiruzen knew that if Danzo had his way, then Danzo would have the boy trained to be a weapon against Konoha's enemies.

Enma disappeared in a plume of smoke as Hiruzen sighed, wishing he had his pipe for a moment. He then began to walk back to the village, holding the blonde in his arms as he thought about how he would go about doing what needed to be done.

Six Years Later

Six years had passed since that fateful day and Hiruzen sat in his office, smoking his pipe as he thought. The attacks, both subtle and not subtle, on Naruto had been decreasing in frequency but still happened. Part of it was the various Monkey summons, Toad summons, and ANBU stationed around the boy.

It was hard to argue with a toad that was the size of a food cart holding a katana in both hands.

Still, there were times when neither the summons nor the ANBU were able to stop the people in time. Sometimes it was just due to being late or just to having something else going on.

But that was the most miraculous thing. Naruto had never been cut, he had been bruised, sure, and a broken bone or two, but he had never physically bled from anything worse than a nosebleed.

The drunks that attacked and claimed to have cut the boy, or tried to at least, always claimed that the boy used 'his demon powers' and it manifested as 'moving black tattoos.' Of course, Hiruzen had looked into it, but he wouldn't hurt the boy, he wasn't about to subject him to various tests that could possible hurt the boy.

The attacks always happened during the day as well.

That wasn't to say that the attacks never were attempted at night, but it was like someone or something had taken an active role in protecting the boy. No one, with ill intent, got within a block of the boy before vanishing. His ANBU and monkey summons had tried to pinpoint the culprit, but it was impossible. They left no trace.

People taken by whoever was protecting the boy ended up showing up a week later scared out of their wits and babbling incoherently. Worse yet, a Yamanaka tried to enter their minds and ended up hurt by the mental shielding in place.

Someone wanted the boy protected and wanted nothing to trace anything back to Naruto. Even Hiruzen's scrying orb was useless.

He exhaled from his pipe. Something was going on with the boy.

With Naruto

Naruto was asleep. During the late afternoon, after the academy let out, he went home and quickly went to bed.

From there, he slept until just after dusk when the alarm on a small silver pocket watch went off.

Naruto was currently dreaming of when he met his friends.

Dream

_A younger Naruto, placed in an apartment by the Hokage and having daily meetings with one of several ANBU, awoke from a bad dream. He curled up into a ball a little bit, hugging his knees close to his chest. The people with the animal masks were watching, he knew, but they didn't really interact with him with the exception of Neko and Weasel, both of which were not there._

_Naruto also heard voices coming from his living room, voices that didn't belong to any of the masked people that watched over him._

_The young blonde got up, his feet touching the floor boards and he walked slowly, hugging himself in an oversized t-shirt as he moved towards the door. He slowly cracked it, trying to see who had entered his home._

_Did he have to hide under his bed like Neko had taught him?_

_The door squeaked as it opened a little bit and young Naruto winced as he heard the sound. Instantly, the voices vanished and the room was clear._

_Biting his lip, Naruto went out into the room, glancing around. "Hello?" he asked, looking around as he tried to find who was there. He didn't know it was a bad idea to do so. "Is somebody here?"_

_Silence._

_The blonde moved to the couch and sat on it. He found the oddest of things, an oversized stuffed toad that he hugged to his chest. He didn't even care that it was missing a leg._

_Tears streamed down his face. "If you don't want to come out, that's okay." Naruto said softly, holding the toad closer. "But I was hoping to make a friend. I'm… I'm all alone." He whispered. The people in the animal masks tried, they did, but they couldn't really be friends._

_Naruto began to cry a bit more, leaning his face into the toad and sniffling a bit._

_Click, click, click, click. Naruto raised his head up at the sound, his blue eyes shining with the tears, his cheeks stained by the fluid._

_In front of him, standing about two and a half feet tall, if that, was this strange solid black creature. It had large arms that drooped along the ground a bit with large curled fingers dragging along the hardwood floors. The creature had a flattened head that was naturally leaned down and seemed to have a thick bony plate. It had bright red eyes that glowed in the darkness. If it had been a full sized human, it would be considered quite muscular, like that man with the bushy eyebrows in the green clothes that Naruto had once saw. It took a few more steps, almost hesitantly, forward. The clicking sound came from its clawed feet touching the hardwood floor._

_It had the green leg of the stuffed toad in its clawed hand, fuzz ripped from it and sticking out of the creature's mouth. It bit off another chunk of the stuffed leg and ate it, licking its large jaws to clear the fuzz. "__**Me Tanky." **__The diminutive creature said, pounding his chest._

_Naruto had been slightly scared at seeing the creature getting closer, especially since it ate the stuffed toad's leg. Naruto clutched the plushy a bit more when the creature introduced itself. "Tanky…" Naruto repeated. "I'm Naruto."_

_Tanky's face screwed up in concentration. "__**Nar-Nar-Nar- Uh…" **_

"_**Naruto, Tank. Nar-u-to." **__Naruto jumped at the sound of the voice as he watched a second black creature step from the shadows. This one appeared more serpentine in appearance, but it had the same long arms and elongated, flattened head. This one had a long tail and legs that looked useful for climbing and clinging to things._

"_**Zekey!" **__Tank said and moved over to the other creature, the clicking of his talons hitting the floor being sounded. Tank then lifted the other onto his head, despite the other one being a little over three feet long from tip of the nose to the tail. Naruto noticed Tank's legs looked more useful for running or walking._

_The second one patted Tank on the head and moved over towards Naruto, climbing up onto the couch beside him. "__**Give that to Tank," **__he said, motioning to the stuffed toad. Naruto looked down to it for a moment before offering it to Tank. Tank accepted it and peeled off another leg to start eating._

_Naruto glanced to his lap where there was another, complete toad plushy. He looked to the second creature. "Thank you." He whispered softly._

"_**I am Zeke, you have met Tank. You must forgive him, he's rather…" **__Zeke paused for a moment. "__**He's dumb." **__He broke it down so a four year old, even one slightly educated by the ANBU, could understand it. "__**I don't say it to be mean, but that's just how Tank is."**_

_Naruto nodded as he watched Tank almost surgically split the toad's stomach open like he was a doctor with a scalpel. Naruto was a little disturbed by Tank taking the fuzz and eating it. "W-what are you?"_

_Zeke climbed onto Naruto's shoulders, being careful of the talons and the claws. "__**We are Demons Naruto, Shadow demons. We are not bad things, we just have bad things said about us." **__Zeke said, patting Naruto's head softly. "__**But more importantly, we keep you safe during the day and night."**_

"_Like Jiji?" Naruto asked._

_Zeke tilted his head. "__**Jiji**__?" he asked, confused for a moment._

"_The old man in the funny hat." Naruto said. How did Zeke not know?_

_Zeke paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "__**Ah, the Sandaime Hokage. Yes, we keep you safe like Jiji, but not quite the same way. We cannot come out to play during the day. We sleep when the sun is up Naruto." **__Zeke patted Naruto's stomach with his tail. "__**We sleep right there, right on you."**_

_Naruto nodded softly. "Are there more of you?"_

_Zeke nodded softly. "__**There are seven of us: Myself, Tank, Demon, Angel, Raw, Grid, and Spike. We'll introduce you to the rest a bit later. They are out eating."**_

_Naruto nodded softly, rubbing his stomach. "Is it cramped?" he asked._

"_**A little,"**__ Zeke told Naruto. "__**But don't fret, as you get older and bigger, we'll have more room. We'll keep you safe Naruto, but I want you to keep us secret." **__Zeke didn't want to think about what the Hokage would try to do if they were found out before Naruto could fight alongside them._

_Naruto blinked. "Why?" he asked._

_Zeke thought, trying to come up with a good idea as to why Naruto had to keep them secret. "__**Because," **__Zeke began still thinking. "__**Because we want to be a surprise for everyone Naruto." **__Zeke told him. "__**You'll keep us be a secret so we can be a surprise right?"**_

_Naruto nodded softly. He generally liked surprises. "Okay Zeke, I'll keep you guys secret."_

_It had been the best day of Naruto's short life. He had two friends, and Tank was always fun to wrestle with._

End Dream

Since then, Naruto had met the other five demons that slept on his growing body. He found out that the bigger he got, the stronger they would get. As evident as the fact Naruto had difficulty beating Tank in a game of wrestling.

Still, once Naruto told the boys he was going to be a Shinobi, they had taken to training him some things. Zeke told Naruto that he was to watch various animals and insects and learn to fight based on them. So at night, Naruto slipped away from his apartment with the shadow demons hiding him.

He watched Tigers and bears in a fenced off forest, protected by the demons watching over him. He watched mantises and snakes in various training fields, careful not to get too close. He watched as a crow flew, running after it.

He wasn't good at any of it, not yet. But he didn't give up and Zeke had told him that was the best thing possible to do.

Six Years later

Naruto sat in the classroom, bobbing his foot up and down as he listened to Iruka lecturing about the importance of the tests that were coming up. Zeke had told him they weren't really that important except to say that they had potential.

Naruto had grown to be just under Shino in the height department. Naruto however was broader in build. His blonde hair was wild and untamed, no matter how much Naruto had tried to tame it. His blue eyes were constantly sparkling with mischief, as though he was let in on some great big secret.

He had on a pair of black combat boots which led up to a pair of blue Shinobi pants. Tucked into the blue pants he had a black long sleeved turtle-neck shirt with a red sash wrapped around his waist. His hands had black markings along the back and palms of them, and Naruto could occasionally be seen rubbing the markings tenderly.

If one looked closely enough at his scalp, they could see more black markings throughout his hair, leading up to the hair line.

Naruto also had a pocket watch, silver and dented, on a long silver chain that he occasionally looked at. It had an alarm feature, but no one really heard it go off.

Naruto had dominated in three fields. He dominated in the obstacle course, no matter how wild or asinine the instructors had made it, including low yield explosive tags and flash bangs, Naruto consistently finished it with record shattering speeds. Naruto had learned how to run as the crow flies, dodging obstacles and trusting his hands and feet to do feats many would say were acrobatic.

The second field Naruto dominated in was Taijutsu. Naruto was a complete monster in Taijutsu. He was strong and fast, he struck with the speed of a snake, but the strength of a bear. An open palmed bitch slap knocked one of the civilian students out cold. Even Sasuke and Kiba, having entire clan styles to work with, had difficulty even keeping up with Naruto and his seemingly limitless stamina.

Lastly, Naruto dominated in stealth. If he wanted to disappear, he could disappear without even a bare trace. Not even a Chunin Inuzuka that had been hired for that day, could find Naruto. The blonde just vanished.

His Genjutsu abilities sucked something awfully, and even with the boys helping him, he had problems with the academic portions of the course work. He just had difficulty focusing. No one could blame him for that.

Throwing and accuracy was a bit interesting. Naruto, bluntly, sucked with kunai and shuriken. He could hit the target at least, but he wasn't making any instant kill shots with either kunai or shuriken any time soon.

But one day, Iruka had brought in various other things to throw, so everyone could get a feel for them, to recognize what might be thrown at them and to truly understand that in the hands of a skilled marksman, everything was a projectile.

Naruto had picked up the spears and threw those. Every shot was dead on, in a more literal sense since every hit would have been a kill shot.

Naruto was used to throwing spears though. His body knew how to move itself for maximum thrust and trajectory.

Ninjutsu was also interesting. Naruto had blatantly said he would be unable to learn the standard Clone technique simply because he had absurd amounts of chakra and nowhere near enough control.

Iruka had taken Naruto outside and told the blonde to start sticking leaves to him, to try and get his control underway.

Naruto had refused and said that it wasn't a chakra heavy enough technique. The two argued back and forth for a while until Naruto put his hands into the Ram hand sign and flared his chakra to life. Almost instantly, Iruka could see the wisps of blue flare up around the blonde as he focused on pushing his chakra out.

When Naruto was done, he just watched Iruka, as though daring him to tell Naruto to learn the standard Clone technique.

A petition went to the Hokage, and was signed off, for Naruto to not have to know the standard clone technique to pass, but instead _a _clone technique. Naruto ended up learning the Water Clone because it was rather versatile if used properly.

All in all, Naruto wasn't the best student, but he wasn't the worst. He showed potential, but how much potential he kept to himself. It was exactly how Naruto wanted it, how the boys wanted it. As Naruto had gotten older, even if he was only twelve, he got to understand the things the boys were trying to tell him.

He managed to pass, and his headband was tied around one leg. He had spray painted the metal a dark blue to match the pants.

Iruka was reading off of the list of teams, but Naruto generally zoned out most the names. He was waiting to hear nine of them, one of those being his.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka, Ino Yamanaka, you will be Team Seven under Jonin Kakashi Hatake." Naruto's eyes narrowed at Iruka's voice. He had expected an Assault Team, a Tracking Team, and the latest formation of the InoShikaCho trio.

"Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, you will be Team Eight under Jonin Kurenai Yuuhi." Naruto's hunches had been blown out of the water. Someone with a brain had balanced the teams a bit.

"Team Nine is still in circulation, so Hinata Hyuuga, Choji Akimichi, and Naruto Uzumaki, you are Team Ten under Jonin Asuma Sarutobi." Iruka said and finished reading off the chart. "Now, due to an emergency missive from the Fire Daimyo, Asuma was sent out of the village. For the time being Jonin Yugao Uzuki will be your substitute sensei. Be as courteous to her as you would to your actual Sensei Team Ten." Iruka said.

Naruto watched as Iruka headed out after gathering his paperwork. Soon, Jonin began to come in to get their teams. Naruto watched as Team Eight headed out with the dark haired woman.

Naruto was surprised to see a dark, purple haired, woman enter. She had fair skin and was quite the looker. She had a tasteful amount of lipstick on, but that was about it. Her hair was drawn back into a pony tail. She wore a grey flak jacket with grey pants on. Naruto for some reason thought of Neko, from all those years ago. But he didn't say anything. He knew an ANBU's identity was to be kept hidden at all costs. Naruto then took notice to the sword strapped to her back.

Swords weren't really his thing, too much could go wrong with them.

"Team Ten, follow me." The now identified Yugao Uzuki said. Naruto stood up and filed out with his two teammates.

Things were really going to get interesting, he could even feel the boys stirring against his skin as he got excited. Naruto cracked his knuckles slightly against his sides as they were led out of the academy and taken to a small park. Their temporary sensei sat on the ground and motioned to the three to sit in front of her.

Naruto took his place, a little distant from both Hinata and Choji. He had nothing against either of them, he was sure they'd be great teammates, but he didn't really know them. He kept to himself, both during class and outside of class.

"We're going to introduce ourselves." Yugao said. "I want to know your names, your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, and your dreams for the future. I will start us off." She had been strictly professional. "My name, as you three should know, is Yugao Uzuki. I like my boyfriend Hayate, I dislike rampant perverts. My hobbies include training with my sword, and spending time with my boyfriend. My dreams for the future are to become the head of the ANBU and someday get married."

Yugao nodded to Choji. "We'll start with you and try to tell us something we wouldn't already know." She said.

Choji thought about it for a moment. "My name is Choji Akimichi, I obviously like all types of food," at this Choji gave a small smile and patted his stomach. "I also like my friends like Shikamaru and my clan. I dislike anyone that wastes food and people that make fun of my clan for our techniques and how we have to do them. My hobbies include eating and watching clouds with Shikamaru." Here Choji paused. "My dreams for the future…" he thought about it. "To become a Clan Head worthy of my clan and to open my own restaurant that will be talked about by everyone in the village."

Yugao nodded softly. "A worthy goal Choji-kun." She said. She then looked to Hinata. "You're next." She said softly.

Naruto glanced over to Hinata. He really wasn't sure what to make of the Hyuuga girl. A few years ago, she had been this shy, stuttering, mess. Then it was like someone had lit a fire under her ass and she grew a spine. She held herself with an air of natural nobility, not that snobbish asshole nobility that her clan did. It was a mix of grace, dignity, and strength.

Her hair was grown out long, and kept in a neat braid usually hanging over one shoulder. She wore a pair of black Shinobi pants with the legs taped down from about mid-calf downwards. She wore a pair of standard Shinobi sandals and she had her kunai holster strapped to one leg. She wore an open, powder blue jacket and under that was a black top. Naruto would admit that Hinata was developing quite nicely with her assets. The oddest thing though, about her jacket, was the back had what looked like stylized, stenciled feathered wings drawn onto the back.

Hinata could have been the top Kunoichi, easily, but she chose not to. Granted, she never lost a sparring match to anyone except for Naruto. He didn't hold back for anyone.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga, I like cinnamon buns, my little sister Hanabi, and Kurenai-san who had been my handler for a time. I dislike the use of the Caged Bird Seal in my clan, and those that look down upon others that are meant to be family. My hobbies include flower pressing and playing with Tenshi-kun when he's around. My dreams for the future are to become a proud clan head, abolish the use of the Caged Bird Seal, and to face my father as an equal in Jyuken."

Naruto blinked a bit. Tenshi? Angel? Was Angel the reason Hinata had turned this way? It seemed he needed to have a talk with one of his boys about this. Naruto then mentally shook the notion away. She said Tenshi, not Angel. It could be someone else.

Still, it couldn't hurt to ask.

Yugao nodded softly. That was certainly something different, but then again she had asked for her temporary students to say something everyone might not know. "Lastly, we come to you." She said, looking to Naruto whom she had watched over for the better part of eight years.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like training, ramen, and the Boys." He said and noticed the odd looks at the mention of his Shadow Demons who no one else knew of. "I dislike the blatantly stupid that don't try to change it, I dislike the ignorant, and I dislike snakes. Bloody things are fast and hurt when they bite. My hobbies include training and horsing around with the Boys and watching animals to learn their strengths and how to fight like them, this does include snakes. My dream for the future is to have a family." Naruto said. He already knew his dream for the future would happen.

If he didn't make sure of it, the boys would then. When his child got old enough, and strong enough, they would abandon Naruto to go to his child, likely a girl if at all possible from what Zeke had said.

Even if Naruto was in the midst of battle when they made the jump.

Naruto didn't mind the survivalist nature of his boys. He understood that they were in the game of survival and they were in it to win it, like they had been for over a thousand years. But when asked, Zeke had been straight up and honest with Naruto which was why he didn't care.

If he was going to be stabbed in the back, just tell him and he wouldn't hold any hard feelings.

Yugao nodded though she still had some questions. She would learn them in time. "Very well, you are all unique individuals who I look forward to working with and fighting alongside." She said. "Meet me at Training Ground 11 tomorrow at 10. You have passed the Genin test, but now you must pass _my_ test to see if you will be Shinobi." She stood up. "And come prepared, it has a sixty-six percent fail rate." She then vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.

Naruto watched as both Choji and Hinata stood up to leave, offering a word of departure to their teammate. Naruto stood up and bent down, plucking a long, dark purple hair from the ground. Zeke would be able to tell him if it was in fact Neko who had watched over him all those years.

Naruto made his way home and quickly went to bed. He'd wake later at night.

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, reading over the various reports from his Jonin, the exception being Kakashi who hadn't yet taken his team in.

Team Eight didn't surprise him much. Sakura was infatuated with the remaining loyal Uchiha, and had neglected her own training due to such infatuation. Still, according to Kurenai, there was definitely hope for Sakura as a Shinobi. Distance from Sasuke was necessary and a harder training program to turn her into a better Shinobi.

Shikamaru was precisely like his father had been: Lethargic to his core, but with a sense of duty as hard as steel. Kurenai mentioned perhaps speaking with Gai about a few joint training exercises to whip the lazy Nara into a hint of shape. If nothing else, it would motivate Shikamaru to do more than the bare minimum, just so he wouldn't be around Lee and Gai more than necessary.

Shino was as cool as a cucumber. Kurenai even attempted some subtle things to try and get under his skin, yet it didn't work at all, something she was proud to note. Again, she mentioned working with Gai in a joint training exercise to help the Aburame with his dream of making a sort of 'bug-related Taijutsu.' If anyone could do it, it would be someone motivated working with Gai.

Hiruzen got to Team Ten and paused a bit as he smoked on his pipe. This was going to be an interesting read and he knew it.

Asuma's team might as well be Yugao's at this point, even for the Chunin Exams that he had been working on for the past year. The Fire Daimyo's cousin, the new Daimyo of Water Country, expressed concern over the new Mizukage. Not in a way like the previous Daimyo would have, given the new Mizukage's rumored Kekkai Genkai, but instead in a way that was a new Daimyo dealing with a Shinobi village for the first time.

The Fire Daimyo had specifically requested Asuma, for his work as a member of the Guardian Twelve, and had set out for Water Country immediately.

Hiruzen of course had more qualified Jonin for a protection mission of that regard, someone like Kakashi or Tenzo, however when the Daimyo specifically requests someone, it's best to go with the request.

Besides, Hiruzen was trying not to coddle Asuma. It was one of the reasons Asuma left to go for the Guardian Twelve in the first place.

Hiruzen picked up Choji's file, expecting it to be the most normal. He wasn't disappointed either, thankfully. Though he was interested to note that the boy wanted to open his own restaurant, perhaps he would speak with Chouza or someone to teach the boy the ins and outs of business so that he could be successful. Yugao mentioned putting the Akimichi boy through a strength building routine and get him on a more protein based diet instead of the junk food that was common for Akimichi's at that age.

Hinata intrigued Hiruzen a bit. There was no mention of her crush on Naruto. There hadn't been many signs of it over the past few years, but a skilled psychologist was able to tell and then report their findings to Hiruzen. Whoever Tenchi was had seriously instilled a spine into Hinata Hyuuga. Her dislike of the Caged Bird Seal and wishing to abolish it was a bit refreshing considering he occasionally had to deal with the stuffy Hyuuga Elders. Yugao put into her report about teaching the girl some subtle Genjutsu and seeing just how far her abilities went.

And thus he came to Naruto's.

The blonde's honestly worried Hiruzen a bit. He was a bit of a failure of a leader, he still had not told Naruto of his burden or of his heritage. Hiruzen rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Hiruzen opened the file and started to read through it. Naruto had been learning how to fight by watching animals? Hiruzen frowned a moment, it made sense. Naruto was wickedly fast, no matter where he was running. And he seemed to run like the water flowed, with nothing acting as an obstacle.

Not even a squad of ANBU chasing him.

It also explained Naruto's fighting style. It was completely unorthodox, with his body moving low to the ground and dipping and weaving around everything like a snake might. If he was knocked back, he came to a halt like a tiger might, on all fours and ready to pounce back into the fight. When Naruto was ready to strike, he did so with the strength and ferocity of a bear, as evident as him knocking out one of the other students some time ago. Naruto could even grapple, fighting like some sort of monkey and pounding his opponent into submission.

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. Then these 'boys' worried Hiruzen. He didn't have enough information to go on and try to investigate who the 'boys' were. Nor did he have the resources, the recent graduation and the upcoming Chunin exams tying up his spare resources to investigate the matter. He couldn't just order the blonde to tell him once he passed Yugao's test either, all Shinobi were entitled to their secrets. Kakashi's Raikiri was one example of something Hiruzen didn't know all the secrets to.

Hiruzen just wasn't sure what to make of Naruto at the moment.

Yugao's report on the blonde said that her training ideas were to be announced at a later time, not that he blamed the ANBU woman for that. Most people you could get a feel for with their words on what to train them with, fighting them would only help refine what to teach them. Naruto had been unorthodox since day one. So Yugao was going to do an unorthodox method. She'd fight him first to find out what to train him in.

To be honest, Yugao's team's test was a formality, Hiruzen had no doubt that they would pass with flying colors.

He leaned back and inhaled his pipe as he looked at the various forms he had been working with, mostly refusal letters from the various villages, refusing to come to Konoha for the Chunin Exams.

Iwa was a certain no almost every time, even if he was on amicable terms with the Tsuchikage. They had fought, they had survived. They had gotten old. War was a young man's game. Were they friends? No, not in a million years. Were the enemies? Not quite, even if they occasionally had a verbal spat.

The problem came from Iwa's ruling council, like Konoha's own council. They adamantly refused to have Iwa Shinobi inside Konoha for any damned reason. Onoki held all the power within Iwa, but that didn't stop Iwa's Council from swaying his decisions.

Damned Fence-sitter.

Kumo had been a stern no for the past nine years. Since the Hyuuga incident where Hinata had almost been kidnapped, Kumo had been on terse terms with Konoha. They didn't even send Konoha invites to the Chunin Exams when they were held in Kumo.

The problem was A, Hiruzen respected the man for his prowess on the battle field and even his shrewd political work. But the man himself, Hiruzen held no respect for. A continued to blame Konoha for what happened to his diplomat, and he refused to send more Shinobi to Konoha just to be killed.

The diplomat could probably rise from the grave, bitch slap A in the face saying that A ordered him to kidnap Hinata, and A would still deny all actions.

Hoshi was another village that Hiruzen admittedly knew wouldn't be in the Chunin exams. Not because they denied, rather he 'neglected' to send them an invite.

Hoshikage his wrinkly old ass.

Kiri had recently undergone a revolution, so they might be hard pressed to send a few teams to Konoha which was near the northern most part of Fire Country. Financial situations after a revolution were always tricky to handle.

Hiruzen scratched his chin. He might still be able to pull something out and get the biggest Chunin Exams in a long time. He just had to see if they would be willing to help out.

Hiruzen got out a parchment and a pen to write up a letter to Mifune.

Night Time with Naruto

Naruto sat up and clicked the top of his watch, shutting off the alarm that was beeping. He heard the boys in his kitchen, grabbing a few things they wanted to eat with while they got their own food. Naruto slipped out of his day clothes and slipped on his night clothes. A black long-sleeved shirt, a set of black fingerless gloves that had microfilament wire running through them to strengthen the material, a pair of dark grey pants, and his boots. Naruto stretched himself out, popping his back. "Angel! Can I speak with you?" he called out as he went to the bathroom and bent over the sink to wet his hair a bit.

Soon a weight landed on Naruto's back and shoulders. Looking into the mirror, he looked at one of the oddities to the boys. Angel was solid white with bright blue eyes. He shared Zeke's body type of a long lithe body, being about three feet from snout to tip of the tail. But where Zeke had powerful arms meant for clinging and climbing, Angel did not. Instead, Angel had two wings made for flying, white feathered wings that were a decent size.

One wouldn't think he was a shadow demon.

Naruto gently scratched Angel on the top of his head. He always enjoyed being around the boys. "Hey buddy, have you helped out a Hyuuga by the name of Hinata?" he asked the demon, being specific enough that there wouldn't be any wiggle room for Angel to sneak out of the question.

The demon gave a sound, between a hiss like some serpent and a coo like a dove. Naruto gently scratched Angel's head. "I didn't think so. Go on, go eat. I'll be out in just a moment." Naruto dipped his head down and Angel soon took flight once more, heading back to the kitchen.

Naruto brushed his hair back with his hands and he headed out to the kitchen. Only one of the boys were left , the others going out to play or eat. Generally they would stay with him, but Naruto gave them two hours every night to do what they wanted.

"Come on Spike," Naruto told the last one.

It was shaped sort of like a dog or cat mixed with Zeke. It walked on all fours and was only two feet long and stayed low to the ground. Spike's legs were built for fast running, with the long tail being thicker and flatter than the others, except for the slight protusion at bottom of the tail's spade like tip. Along Spike's back were bony spines like a hedgehog.

Spike moved over and leapt up before landing on Naruto's shoulder and holding on. His long tail moved around Naruto's arm to stay on. Naruto gently pet Spike on the head. Despite having intelligence that dwarfed Naruto's own, Spike was also more animalistic in nature. Naruto checked his fridge and soon started to fry up some venison. "Looks like we're going hunting tonight Spike, how's that sound?"

Spike gave a small sound that was a mix between a hiss and a bark. Spike was the Hunter of the group. He was the one Naruto took with him when they needed food.

Naruto ate the venison when he was done, putting it on some bread and making a sandwich out of it. When he was finished, he scratched Spike's head. "Let's go buddy." He said and Naruto headed for his window. He leapt out without hesitating and his hands caught ahold of the building next to his. He climbed up and began to run, Spike running alongside him, his claws clicking against the top of the building.

Naruto propelled himself off of the building to the street below, rolling with his landing and coming up, continuing to run without missing a beat. Up some wooden crates, across a metal dumpster, a short wall run over a fence, Naruto instinctively trusted his feet and his hands. He grabbed a window sill of a warehouse and yanked himself up, throwing himself to the far ledge and dragging himself up.

Spike was never far behind.

It didn't take long for the duo to make it to the Forest of Death. Naruto stared at the gates and popped his back a bit before he cracked his knuckles. "Come on Spike." Naruto said as he reached into his back pocket and unsealed his tools.

Naruto slipped them onto his hands. His tools were a pair metal claws that fit over his gloved hands with a second, larger glove. The claws on his hands extended out to be about six inches from his hand.

If he was hunting tigers and bears, he might as well make it fun and somewhat fair.

Spike leapt over the fence after a brief running start. Naruto ran forward, climbing the fence with practiced ease. He landed beside Spike who was already snout down into the ground, sniffing. The hunt was on.

The Next Morning

Naruto got up from his short nap and he stood up. He got a quick shower from the night's hunt and subsequent butcher of the bear they had managed to get. When he stepped out, Naruto didn't bother with a towel as the boys began to absorb the water into their tattooed form. Whenever it rained, Naruto never got wet. His clothes got wet, but he never did.

He looked into the full length mirror he salvaged and put into his room. The tattoos ran all over his body, down along both arms and on his torso was Tank, on the back of his torso was Angel, covering each side of his face, neck, and shoulders were both Raw and Grid. Spike was on his feet, Demon was on his legs. Zeke was also on his chest, a rounded circle with but an inch of flesh around him separating him from Raw, Grid, and Tank in all directions. Each tattoo looked unique in their own ways, depending on what they did or could do.

"Come on boys, you know better." He told Raw and Grid. The tattoos slowly retreated from his face and back along his hairline. Tank still covered his hands, despite Naruto trying to tell him not to.

Naruto began to get dressed for the test today. He slipped on a hunter green long sleeved top with a few secrets to it. Dark earthy brown Shinobi pants went on as well along with a pair of brown steel toed boots. Naruto taped up his legs a little bit and grabbed the scroll containing his hunting tools/preferred weapons.

He slipped them into his utility pouch, the only thing he really needed.

Naruto grabbed one of the fresh apples he managed to find as well as some cheese from the fridge. He ate both, drinking some water to go with it. He had a big meal before he went to sleep for a three hour nap, he didn't need to eat much to stay fueled.

Last thing Naruto grabbed was his pocket watch. Instead of putting it on, he walked out swinging it around a little bit. He took to the rooftops, not even using his hands and just trusting in his feet.

He made it to Training Ground Ten with over an hour to spare. It seemed that both Hinata and Choji were there early as well, eager to get the test underway.

Naruto however chose to spend his time a little differently. Hinata was meditating, no doubt focusing for the upcoming test, and Choji was eating some chips, packing away calories to be used for his techniques.

Naruto chose the hour to get a feel for the area, marking trees and areas with the toe of his boots. It was subtle, but done in a way he'd be able to understand so he could find his bearings.

At precisely ten, Yugao showed up in their midst. "Good," she said without preamble. "I have been watching you three since you all arrived. You each didn't waste time, you each chose to do something productive, even if it was as simple as making sure you had the necessary requirements to perform your techniques." She felt a bit of pride in her chest well up.

Yugao produced two bells from her pouch. Kakashi used the same method, but it was a tried and true method. She tied them onto her wrist, holding it up and letting them dangle and jingle. "Your test is simple, you have to take the two bells from me. Use any methods you can think of and one last thing," The sound of steel ringing was heard as she slowly drew the Katana on her back from its sheath. With a soft flick, she was holding it down at her body in the hand with the bells tied at the wrist. "Come at me with the intent to kill me. Begin."

Almost immediately, Hinata and Choji vanished well enough. For Genin at least, she could feel them from her training in ANBU.

Naruto on the other hand pulled a scroll out and unsealed something, the plume of smoke obscuring him for a moment.

Yugao brought her sword up with a clash of steel against steel as he sprang from the smoke. Naruto's face and hair were covered by a green Shinobi mask that had been tucked under the shirt he wore. Yugao backed up as he began to meet her stroke for stroke. She was surprised at Naruto's ferocity and silence. There were no words spoke between the two.

Yugao continued to block the high quality claws, her sharp eyes examining them closely. Anko had been reporting a hunter sneaking into the Forest of Death and using claws against his or her prey. It would seem as though she found the culprit.

Even still, she doubted the blonde would stop. He was just as at risk of being killed as his prey was.

Yugao offered a ghost of a smirk as she stepped up her game a little bit. She had only been working at Genin level sword play, talented as she had been as a Genin with a sword. She shifted her back foot a little bit and her grip on her sword. She then swung upwards into a lethal arc.

She wasn't disappointed when a bit of blood splattered out from Naruto's chin as she cut into him while he leapt back away.

He then collapsed into water, surprising the Jonin. Naruto had such control over his abilities to make water clones that he could make them from over a hundred feet away where the small river was?

Yugao extended her senses out. Naruto had vanished completely or he was in the water where she couldn't quite sense as well. "This is a fascinating bunch of candidates." She said with a sly smirk on her face as she began to get ready.

Naruto had witnessed the entire battle from the river, hiding just below the surface with his head down to his nose just above the surface. "She was toying with me." He whispered softly.

Then there was the small problem of her sword having a string around the bottom that intertwined with the bells. It made it maddening to try and figure out which were the bells and not the sword.

Naruto would need help, he realized. He dipped under the water and summoned another three Water Clones that stepped from the water and began to move towards Yugao's position to keep her occupied for at least a little while.

He himself needed to talk with Choji and Hinata.

Naruto began to drag himself along underneath the current a ways away. He knew this went both ways, Yugao couldn't sense him but he couldn't sense his teammates. Eventually he dragged himself out of the water and glanced around, making sure that Yugao wouldn't be able to see him or find him.

From there, he went to find Choji first.

It didn't take long for him to find the pudgy boy who was attempting to keep low in a bush, watching as Naruto's water clones weaved around one another to continue battling Yugao. Naruto tapped Choji on the shoulder and brought one talon-like finger to his lips, motioning for silence.

Choji had jumped but suppressed a sound.

Naruto turned and motioned for Choji to follow. They needed to find Hinata

Apparently Hinata saw Cho0ji as she made her way out of her hiding spot to meet them, showing a little surprise at Naruto being there.

The boys hid his chakra signature. They had no chakra of their own and they rested just above his skin and with as much of his body revealed as it was, he had no doubt that the boys had moved to cover him more completely.

"We need a plan." Naruto told his teammates.

Yugao was impressed by the blonde as she spun down on one knee, dodging one swing of his claws and coming up with a two-handed swing that bisected the water clone. She had long since increased her abilities a little bit as well.

Simply by using the sword with both hands, she doubled the strength and speed of her swings.

Instinct, honed by years of being an ANBU, told her to jump and she leapt out of the way of Choji's enlarged form rolling around. She turned, stepping back as she saw Hinata come in, swiping at her with chakra flowing through her fingertips.

Yugao turned, moving to give Choji a quick shallow slash across his chest as he came, in a basic academy stance, throwing a solid punch that enlarged.

Yugao smiled a little bit as she bent backwards on one leg, kicking Hinata in the sternum and moving to cut Choji across his enlarged hand. He would need stitches, but that wouldn't be too bad for the heftier boy.

Yugao's eyes widened as she caught sight of the blonde.

Naruto was the only one of the three that had a cutting implement readily available. He had shadowed behind Hinata during her entire engagement against Yugao. He did such a goo job that Yugao didn't even realize he had been right there the entire time.

Naruto slid between Hinata's legs and Yugao's outstretched one. She felt a burning sensation as her calf was sliced open by those claws, her arm grazed by the metal on the back of his hand as he went for the bells.

Yugao tried to adjust her arm, to stand back up and keep the bells from the blonde, but she had committed herself to slashing Choji and kicking Hinata.

Naruto rolled between Choji's legs, springing up to his feet, bells in hand.

Yugao could almost see the look of triumph on his face and the faces of his teammates. Yugao stood up and looked down to her bleeding leg and sheathed her sword. She got some bandages out of her pack and wrapped her calf up tight.

Naruto gave one bell to Hinata and one to Choji. It was time to see how far they would go for their teammate.

"Congratulations Choji-kun, Hinata-chan." Yugao said. "You two pass. I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but you do not have a bell and it's the end of the exercise. You will have to go back to the Academy for another six months."

Choji and Hinata's face showed surprise, and Naruto's eyes narrowed. "But Sensei," Choji began. "There's never been a three man team."

Yugao shrugged. "Then I suppose we'll be different, now won't we Choji-kun?"

Hinata looked to the bell in her hand and clenched it tight for a moment. She then threw it over to Yugao and stepped over by Naruto. "Then you'll have to send me back as well Yugao-sensei. I refuse to leave a comrade behind, especially one that allowed for us to get the bells in the first place." Hinata held her head high and proud, unwavering.

Yugao was surprised when a second bell joined the first on the ground and Choji stood by his teammates. She could see the determination there in his eyes, the fear, and the sadness.

Yugao glanced between the three of them. "Do you think you can become a good clan head if you fail your Jonin Sensei's exam the first time around? What about your dreams of opening a restaurant Choji-kun? Will you give up then as well when the going gets tough? And Hinata-chan, will you bend to the rules of others when you become Clan Head? Will you really be able to abolish the Caged Bird seal?"

Naruto clipped his claws to his side and removed the hood and mask to expose his face, shaking his head a bit. He put his hans on his teammates' shoulders and gave a grin. "Face it Yugao-sensei, we're sticking together. Maybe next time we'll be able to be on the same team as well; come on guys, let's go to lunch."

"Lunch sounds good," Choji said. "I know of this really good barbeque place."

Hinata nodded softly. "That does sound lovely." She said.

Yugao chuckled softly and went over. "Well then Choji-kun, lead the way." She said and smiled a bit to the three. "I'll pay because congratulations, you three pass."

Yugao savored the stumped look on the three Genin's faces. "Teamwork~!" she called out as she began to walk away.

Naruto gave a bark of laughter, finally understanding the real purpose of the test.

End

A/N: So here we go, a new story, and as you guys can already see I've changed a fuck load of things around. I'll still be changings a lot more around, but we'll have to see how the chapters go.

If anyone knows of the book I'm talking about, tell me and I'll make sure to put the story into the proper category.

Peace!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: We're back for another chapter! Yay!

So, I have been told what the series is, though I made some notable changes to the demons as well, again I want to apologize given I haven't read the books in a long time and it's a little too late now for me to go back and change them, so I'm going to keep going.

The series is the Hunter Kiss series by Marjorie M. Liu, I'd tell you more, but I've always been fond of letting people form their own opinions.

Updated Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Hunter Kiss series. I make no profit from this story, I don't even own a computer anymore.

Chapter 2

Choji looked down to the ground as he walked. He didn't even have his customary bag of chips in his hands as he kept his hands tucked into his jacket. He wandered the streets, not wanting to go home yet as he thought hard on what he was told.

Choji, for a very long time, had a very low self-esteem, especially regarding his weight. Then he made a friend in Shikamaru who didn't care about it. It was nice to not have someone judge him based on his size.

But perhaps his sloth like friend had been too lazy in their work at being Shinobi.

"How strong do I want to be?" he asked himself as he thought back to Naruto's words.

Flashback, Three hours ago after the Test

_Yugao and Hinata had already left, leaving the boys of the team still there. Naruto drank at a canteen of water, having not touched the drink the restaurant had provided since they provided it. The meat had already been eaten and cleared, and now it was just two teammates drinking._

_Naruto put his canteen down and screwed the cap back on before tucking it aside. He sat forward and put his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together in front of his face and resting his chin on his thumbs._

_Choji looked back, a little unnerved by the intensity of the gaze._

"_Choji," Naruto began and obviously sought to try and determine how he wanted to say this, "I'm going to be blunt and I'm sorry for this. You are the weakest member of our team."_

_Choji recoiled like Naruto had physically reached over and smacked the chubby boy. "What?"_

_Naruto held his hands up, trying to placate Choji. "There's nothing wrong with that." He said. "We're just starting out, I honestly don't expect you to be as strong as myself or Hinata at the moment. To be truthful, I'm more than a little curious as to where Hinata's strength has come from, but that's neither here nor there."_

"_What does that have to do with me?" Choji asked. He was tempted to grab his bag of chips that he had with him, to munch. It was his safety net, his nervous habit._

_Naruto bit his tongue a bit, watching the Akimichi heir. "Neither Hinata nor I would feel held back by you Choji." Naruto said. "If you wish to learn the way you have for so long, I doubt either of us would mind and we wouldn't make you feel like we're trying to pick up some sort of slack." Naruto shook his head. "You're our teammate, we'll do whatever is necessary to make you feel welcome."_

_Choji looked down to his hands on the table, thinking. "Why are you bringing this up?"_

_Naruto stood up to leave. He cracked his back and then his neck, rolling his shoulders. "I'm at my peak physical strength without the use of Chakra Choji, I won't be able to grow stronger until I've gotten bigger. Yet for all of my strength," Naruto watched Choji intently, "you can be leagues stronger than me. Even if I were to augment my strength with chakra, you have the build and foundation to be stronger than me in raw power." Naruto turned away._

"_How?" Choji asked, slightly in awe at the thought._

_He was well aware of how strong Naruto was._

_Naruto turned his head back, focusing one cerulean blue eye on Choji. "You'll have to give a lot Choji, it will be hard work. You can go the rate you're going now, be undoubtedly a strong Shinobi in time, or you can take that step outside of the comfort zone you've put yourself in and become a Juggernaut on the field of battle, and unstoppable force of strength and power. I leave you with a question. I can make you strong, Yugao-sensei can make you strong and we'd both likely use the same methods because we see much the same thing. But how strong do you want to be? I'll be arriving a Training Ground 10 tomorrow at 7, three hours before we're meant to be there. If you want to take that step outside your comfort zone, meet me there."_

End Flashback

Choji was forced to make a decision. How strong did he want to be? He wanted to be strong enough to protect his village, his family, and his friends. But surely that wasn't to be too expected of him just yet was it?

It wasn't a wartime issue at the moment.

Choji found the hill at which he and Shikamaru usually sat and watched clouds together. He sat down and looked to his hands. He had always been the pudgy kid that everyone made fun of. His clan had been losing status in recent years, not enough for them to not be a major clan but still.

He had fully been prepared to be on another generation of InoShikaCho. Even Ino, despite her infatuation with Sasuke, had believed that they would form another InoShikaCho group.

He was already out of his comfort zone with his team. He knew nothing about Naruto's abilities, he knew nothing about Hinata's abilities outside the basics that he knew. Naruto's fighting style was based around animals; Hinata could see in all directions and used the Jyuken to fight.

Choji drew out his bag of chips, unrolling the top and staring at the open bag. Naruto said he had the potential for the strength to be a Juggernaut on the field of battle. Something like that seemed like a pipedream to him really.

"Seven huh?" he asked himself as he closed the bag of chips and tucked it away. He stood up and slammed his right fist into his left palm.

He was worried, he felt the desire to eat to calm his nerves. But he would take that first step, only time would tell if he ended up building up to a full on sprint.

Taking a deep breath, he began to walk home, planning to enjoy one last day of normalcy.

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, looking to the various Jonin before him. Even Kakashi was there on time, knowing better than to hold up a meeting of this sort of importance.

He could get away with wasting the time of Genin, but wasting the time of eight other Jonin, two of which were ANBU? Even Kakashi wasn't skilled enough to avoid that ass whooping.

Throw in the Hokage and Kakashi might as well write out a will.

Hiruzen inhaled deeply on his pipe before letting it out. "Report." He told to the Jonin in the room.

"Team One, Failed."

"Team Two, Failed."

"Team Three, Failed."

"Team Four, Failed miserably."

"Team Five, Failed and Hospitalized." Hiruzen groaned, looking at the grinning Anko.

"Team Six, Failed."

"Team Seven, Pass." Kakashi said. He pointedly ignored the Hokage holding out his hand and several Jonin paying up money to the old monkey. Hiruzen wasn't even being discreet about it either.

"Team Eight, Pass." Kurenai said with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Team Ten, Passed in record breaking fashion." Yugao said with no small hint of pride in her voice, even giving a small smile about it.

Hiruzen watched one of his loyal ANBU for a moment. "You seem to be favoring your leg there Yugao, what happened?" he asked.

Yugao smiled a little bit, looking to her leg. "One Genin by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. As it turns out, he's likely our mysterious hunter entering the Forest of Death once or twice a week and hunting with a set of metal claws, high quality stuff too."

Yugao noticed a few people murmuring and watching her as she decided to weave the tale of Team Ten's success. She explained how she engaged Naruto to begin with, sword to claw She then went on to explain how the three managed to elude her for a brief time while she fought a small group of Water Clones made by the resident Jinchuriki.

"Team Ten managed to pass our infamous Bell test without any outside help, and in a record shattering twenty four minutes and thirty seven seconds." Yugao said tucking her hands behind her back.

Hiruzen nodded softly. "You're all dismissed, except you Yugao." He said and watched the Jonin head out.

Hiruzen stood up and tucked away his pipe. "Come with me," he said and vanished in a swirl of leaves with Yugao following.

They arrived at Naruto's apartment and the aged Hokage drew a key ring from his robes and went to a specific key that he unlocked the door with. Yugao was surprised as they entered and the aged Hokage looked around for a moment, opening the bedroom door. "Good, he's asleep." He said.

Yugao frowned a bit. "This early in the afternoon?" she asked. Her internal clock was telling her it was only about two. A quick look to a clock confirmed it,

Hiruzen nodded as he motioned her over to the kitchen. He opened the fridge to let Yugao peer in. "Notice something odd?"

Yugao squatted a bit in front of the fridge, opening a few of the plastic containers. "Besides everything being categorized like he as an extreme form of OCD?" she asked. "There's a lot of meat in the fridge, not a lot of anything else."

Hiruzen nodded softly. "And I'm willing to bet a fair amount of it would be the animals Naruto has hunted. The question is, why does he need so much meat? The bears in the Forest of Death are massive."

Yugao continued to look around in the fridge. "Wild fruits and vegetables, a few edible mushrooms, Naruto doesn't have any food that's store bought." She said.

Hiruzen nodded again. "Correct, he's been managing on his own for a long time. He doesn't even have any milk, tea, coffee, or liquor."

Another body flicker technique and they were back inside his office and Hiruzen sat down and leaned back into his chair. He lit up his pipe once more.

Yugao watched Hiruzen. "How long has he been sleeping in the early afternoon? Why?"

Hiruzen scratched his chin. "He's been having the sleep schedule he's been having since he started the Academy. He's also a very sound sleeper. We could have put a concussive tag in his apartment and set it off and he wouldn't wake. As for why? I would assume it would be so he could have more time at night. Hunting does take some time and the Forest of Death's predators do come out more at night." He said

Yugao nodded softly. "You have an assignment for me regarding Naruto." She said.

Hiruzen took an inhale of his pipe and exhaled upwards. "Yes, I want you to watch over Naruto. Try to find out who these 'Boys' are. Suffice to say I am worried. I have a feeling they might only be around at night, which would explain Naruto's own sleep schedule."

Yugao straightened. "And if they are found to be a threat?"

Hiruzen raked his hand down his face. "Find out about them first, we don't want to make any assumptions. Find out about them first, then we can confront Naruto about it."

Yugao offered a quick salute. "Yes sir!" she said before turning.

"One last thing, have you figured what you'll teach Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked.

Yugao turned to face her superior, her Jonin façade back into play instead of her ANBU persona. "Not a clue!" she said with just a hint of a grin.

Hiruzen could only shake his head.

The Next Day

Naruto took his time getting to Training Ground Ten, he had been up for a few hours now. He knew someone had been in his house, likely Yugao or Hiruzen simply because the boys didn't stir him to wake.

Naruto was surprised to see Choji there already doing some basic stretches to try and limber his muscles and to wake his body up. Naruto smiled a bit and moved over, clapping Choji on the shoulder. "Welcome, we're going to have quite a bit of fun today Choji." Naruto said and he turned to regard the pudgy boy. "First things first,"

Naruto reached out and he undid Choji's headband and yanked off the heftier kid's scarf. "Take the jacket off too," Naruto was pleased when Choji did as asked without asking a lot of questions before hand.

Choji frowned a moment when he received his headband back but not the scarf or the jacket. "Why did you have me remove all that?" he asked.

Naruto folded his arms a bit. "First off, your headband looked like you were wearing a pair of underwear on your head. Now if you want to do that, I don't really care but it was bugging me." Naruto noticed Choji blanch at that thought. "But we rectified that. As for the scarf and the jacket, we're going to limit as much loose cloth on you as possible. No doubt you notice most of my clothes, while slightly baggy, tend to not flap a lot in the wind right?"

Choji nodded as he tied his headband around his arm. "I take it it's so no one can grab a hold on you and tug you back?" Choji asked.

Naruto nodded softly. "Now then, we're going to talk to you about fighting styles. The academy style is basic, and truthfully it shouldn't be used too much once we're under a proper Jonin. Now, there are different variations that work, I believe Kurenai-san uses an altered form of the Academy style that she's made lethal."

Choji nodded softly. "So I should change it into my style?" he asked.

"If you want," Naruto said honestly, "Or you can learn a second style that would be better suited for what I plan to do to you."

Choji nodded softly. "You have something in mind?" he asked.

Naruto grinned and he stepped back, widening his stance so his feet were a little further than shoulder length apart. He bent his knees, his hips, and his back a little bit so that he could place his left hand on the ground in front of him in a fist with his knuckles on the ground. "Sumo," Naruto said seriously.

Choji narrowed his eyes. "Are you calling me fat Naruto?" Choji asked clenching his fist tightly at his side.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm dead serious about this Choji. I don't poke fun at anyone. Sumo wrestlers are actually rather strong, despite their size. Their style is based around grappling, close range combat, their mass, and completely bullying their opponent."

Choji debated Naruto's words for a moment before assuming a similar pose as Naruto.

Naruto watched Choji, nodding softly. "Good." He told Choji before he reached back with the toe of his boot and crossed a line into the dirt. He reassumed his stance, mere inches before the line. "Come on Choji, knock me past the line. Once you're able to do that, you won't need me anymore."

Choji stepped forward, unsurprised when Naruto grabbed his hands. Naruto pushed back, sliding back maybe an inch before he stepped forward and began to bully Choji backwards.

Choji disengaged the hold and moved to try once more, only for Naruto to drive his open palm into his chest. "We are Shinobi Choji, we don't fight fair. We add things to our fighting styles to make them better for us, to make them work for us. We add things to them so that people won't expect it. They expect you to use Sumo to grapple, well drive your palm into their trachea, don't use your clan's technique. Treat it like a tool to fall back upon when you're backed into a corner, not like a crutch for the enemy to exploit before your even in that corner."

Choji recovered from the palm strike and gave a bit of a yell as he tried again. Naruto shuffled to the right and grabbed Choji with his left arm. Choji saw the sky as Naruto slung Choji around over his hip and onto the ground. Naruto glanced down to Choji. "We do not fight as Sumo Wrestlers Choji because that would make us predictable. We fight as Shinobi, unorthodox to our opponents and our allies, but ordered within our mines."

Choji nodded softly and slowly got up to his feet. He cracked his knuckles a bit, eager to try again.

"Now, I want you to give me five hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, jumping jacks, right and left punches, and right and left kicks." Naruto told the chunky kid. "It may seem extreme, but I want to turn you into a tank of muscle. We'll work on speed, don't worry, but first we need you to start building more muscle mass."

Choji nodded gently before he moved to start on the push-ups, those were always easier to do.

Unbeknownst to either of the Genin, Yugao sat in a tree, having watched the entire exchange. She was interested in what Naruto was doing for his teammate. It was actually a good plan to begin with, the foundation for the plan laid. All she had to do would be to build upon the foundation that Naruto gave Choji to work with. Not only that, but Naruto's plan gave Choji something he could turn into a real fighting style, something he could make for his clan to use

Being able to expand was not always the answer, no matter how much stronger or bigger an individual got.

She frowned a moment as Naruto continued to move about the training ground, sometimes stopping and placing his hand on the ground. It was almost like he was tracking something.

She saw a flash of silver, Naruto's claws covering his hands once more. From above him, a figure dropped down onto his back and shoulders, holding on and his hand came up behind him, pressing a little below the ribs, obviously intending for the kidneys.

Yugao breathed out a sigh of relief as she noticed Naruto noticed it was his teammate.

"Hinata," Naruto said softly, looking at the light girl that was holding onto his shoulders and having her legs wrapped around his waist while she hung onto his bacl.

"Good morning Naruto-kun," Hinata said sweetly. "You're as good as Tenshi-kun has said you are, you knew I was here even before I dropped down, didn't you?"

Naruto still had no idea who this Tenshi was, but he didn't like being spied on. He supported Hinata's weight a bit so that she didn't fall off. "Yeah, I knew you were there. I was even prepared to go for the kill."

Hinata nodded softly, smiling brightly and sweetly. "As was I Naruto-kun," she patted his chest right where the heart was, right where her hand was.

Truthfully, Naruto had no idea if his boys could block the Jyuken. He never let Hinata get even a glancing blow on him during the academy spars. He wasn't even shocked at her saying she had been prepared to go for the kill.

Naruto carried her on over to Choji and squatted a bit, letting her slip off. "Thank you Naruto-kun, good morning Choji-kun." She said to the chubby boy doing push-ups.

"Morning." Choji said, panting before he continued with his activities.

Hinata turned to look at the blonde with a small sweet serene smile that belied the lethal kunoichi underneath. "Do you have an exercise for me to perform Naruto-kun?" she asked placing her hands in front of her.

Naruto shrugged a moment before he glanced upwards into the trees to their shared Sensei. "I've got nothing Yugao-sensei, not for Hinata at least."

Yugao was surprised that Hinata didn't look surprised by her presence. She was even a little surprised Choji barely registered the fact that she was there. The ANBU operative leapt down. "Well, since you have Choji-kun doing physical training, why don't we have Hinata-chan start running around the training ground? Say… fifty times to start with Hinata-chan?"

Hinhata nodded once and began to take off. Five laps would be one mile, ten miles wasn't that hard of a run for a trained Shinobi.

"Oh and Hinata-chan, do try to finish in an hour please." Yugao said watching as Hinata picked up the pace.

A six minute mile wasn't too hard to run. Ten six minute miles back to back were.

Yugao then turned to the blonde. "Which brings me to you, put your claws on."

Naruto gave a shrug and slipped his claws onto his hands flexing them and expecting a fight.

Yugao regarded the blonde before her. "Truth be told, I still don't know a damned thing on what to teach you Naruto-kun." She said and shrugged her shoulders a bit. "But I do have this wonderful little tactic that you might be able to use. I want you to make as many water clones as possible and then fight them until you dispel all of them. Then I want you to repeat this process over and over again, make sure to kill each group of clones faster and faster."

Naruto gave a salute before he headed over to the river and summoned up his Water clones by the dozens, making literally enough that the river turned closer to a shallow stream. He stepped into the mud and the silt and prepared himself, knowing his clones would do as instructed.

Yugao watched as Naruto started into the melee and she looked at Choji who was still going strong with his push-ups. He was about finished with the first hundred. Yugao unsealed a weighted vest rom a scroll she had drawn from one of the pockets in her flak jacket. She dropped it onto the ground in front of him. "Go ahead and put that on before continuing Choji-kun."

She was pleased that Choji did so immediately and then started back before his body got used to the idea of rest.

By the end of the first hour, all three of her charges had been pushed close to their limits and it wasn't even 8:30. She watched as Naruto walked up, his clothes a mess of tears and scratches, from the two groups of water clones he had dispatched. She knew that the water clones should be able to cut into skin. Hell, she saw them cut into Naruto like his clothes weren't there.

But Naruto's skin was completely unblemished.

It wasn't like he healed the wounds, no he just was never cut.

She had seen a clone get behind Naruto and the blonde had flipped his clone over his head and shoulders. She had watched as those razor sharp claws raked along the blonde's hair and scalp, blonde hair being cut free.

Still, not even a whiff of blood.

Naruto was suspiciously dry too. Choji and Hinata had a fair amount of sweat on them from the heavy workout.

Yugao had a feeling it was the black markings on the blonde's chest and shoulders that she saw through the tattered remains of his top, but she had no definitive proof and she wasn't about to try and cut her student to just find out either.

Yugao unsealed a set of leg and arm weights for each of her students, as well as vests for Hinata and Naruto. "Choji-kun, your weights are heaviest because we're going to be turning you into a powerhouse. Hinata-chan, your weights are lighter because I want you to be faster than even Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, you're going to be the tricky factor of the team. Three parts of the same Shinobi mind. If I have the honor of being your sensei after you three are promoted to Chunin, I will help you even yourself out a lot more, making Choji-kun faster, Hinata-chan trickier, and Naruto-kun stronger"

Yugao smiled as she thought about what she'd be able to do with Naruto, specifically with his chakra reserves. In the face of such reserves, elemental affinities didn't matter. He'd be able to learn anything he wanted and use it. While one might not be as proficient as another, for what she had in mind, it didn't need to be.

Naruto would be playing a shell game with his enemies.

"Time Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked

Naruto pulled out his pocket watch and clicked it open. "0822 Yugao-sensei." Naruto answered her.

Yugao nodded softly. "Alright, let's head to the Tower, we'll pick up a misson or two for the day." Yugao said, almosty eager to get her students working on D-ranks.

They only had to complete thirty before they could get a C-rank.

Over the next few weeks, Yugao pushed her students hard each and every day. She began to start Naruto working on learning the Mud Clone and the Rock Clone. The latter took calling in some favors.

Only two ANBU had learned Iwa zealously guarded clone techniques.

She was tempted to teach him the Shadow Clone but decided to wait on that. Maybe when he hit Chunin she'd teach him.

After a month, Yugao took her team towards the Hokage tower after their morning workout once more.

She was getting surprised with her students to be honest.

Choji was starting to bulk up, he was finally able to complete his entire exercise routine without either passing out afterwards, or just out right failing to be able to do it. Not only that, but they were keeping him up to speed by making him do a hard run every third day, with full weights on.

She wanted an unstoppable force and was slowly building Choji up to it.

Hinata hadn't realy changed much except for toning up some muscles. But she was wickedly fast, literally flowing around Choji in a spar. Even Naruto had difficulty keeping up with her, but he had better reflexes for dealing with faster opponents, still making him a dangerous opponent.

Naruto though he took to his Shell Game strategy really well. In truth, it was not as eloquent as an actual Shell Game, but Naruto moved around the varying three different types of clones, making the engagements that he participates in limited. It also takes a bit of work on Naruto's part to bring up Rock Clones and Mud Clones, having not used them as extensively as Water Clones.

A trained eye could still spot the difference between the clones and the real Naruto, with the exception of his Water Clone, but no Genin had experienced eyes just yet. Rock and Mud clones were a little slower than the real thing.

Naruto saw Sasuke and his team leaving the Tower with their Sensei and an older man who smelled like alcohol. Their eyes met and they stared at one another for a little while.

Naruto did not like Sasuke one bit. The boys didn't like Sasuke one bit either. In essence, there was nothing for Sasuke's favor. He especially gloated about the fact he had always been top of the class, not endearing him to Naruto any.

Naruto could at least say he thus far had a perfect fight record.

Kakashi gave a small wave to Yugao. "Yugao, how's your team doing?" he asked.

Yugao shrugged. "Not bad Kakashi-sempai, I'll be honest in saying I had never anticipated having a team, but they are exceeding my expectations."

Kakashi nodded as he absently flipped a page in his book. "We just got our first C-ranked mission," Kakashi said a little gloatingly about his team. Having a C-ranked in the first month after graduation was unheard of.

Yugao smiled softly, even if on the inside she was laughing at Kakashi. Her team had already taken three C-ranked missions that were done inside the village. "Well then Sempai, I won't keep you busy." Yugao owed her head. "Come along team." She said.

Naruto broke contact with the Uchiha and followed after his Sensei. He was not going to stay in a pissing contest by disobeying orders.

Yugao moved into the mission keeping and glanced through the various C-ranks that were available. Selecting one, she read through the details of the mission. It was time to get her team's feet wet. Naruto and Hinata she had a feeling wouldn't freeze up.

It was Choji she was honestly worried about.

Naruto had killed before. He admitted to it, he killed on a near weekly basis hunting in the Forest of Death. The animals in that place were intelligent and watching those eyes slowly lose their life, their spark, it was hard to watch sometimes. But he wouldn't freeze up, no matter what now.

Hinata had, several times, landed on Naruto at the training ground, and had tapped his chest, almost saying she could have killed him. It was the calm confidence in that fact that honestly bothered Yugao a little bit.

Though Yugao had a feeling Naruto knew exactly where Hinata was each and every time.

It was Choji that worried her a little bit. He hadn't killed and he was doing a lot better. But it was better to have him kill and let her be able to handle it with some simple little bandits than if he was against an actual group of Shinobi.

"Okay Team, pack up for a month and meet at the gates in two hours, we're soon heading out to a village on the Border of Fire Country that's being plagued by some Bandits. We're going to go in, clear them out, come back and get paid, how does that sounbd?" Yugao asked her misfits.

Naruto snapped a Salute off before heading off. Hinata and Choji gave her simple nods before doing the same thing. Naruto had no one, except maybe the 'boys' that she had yet to witness, to tell of where he was going.

Choji and Hinata were both clan heirs.

Yugao stretched herself out a bit, giving a small groan. She wondered if Hayate would be up to scratching two very certain itches she had.

One led into the other quite wonderfully. She loved how much work he did to enjoy her breasts, including giving delicious back massages.

The other, well Jiraiya wasn't in town to possible see it and screw it up.

In Iron

Mifune, the aged General of the Samurai in Iron, regarded the letter that Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent him. It was certainly a different idea to be sure. He just wondered if the Capital had enough facilities for that many people.

Having the Chunin Exams in Iron was a good idea in his humble opinion. It would give Iron revenue, additional revenue at least. Merchants from Iwa to Konoha , from Kumo to Suna, and even Kiri would all come to peddle their wares in Iron, having to pay for stalls in the Capital to use.

His Samurai forces, training to fight Shinobi, would be able to keep the peace as well, they had a force as large as any hidden village and there was no way in Hell that Iwa would come to Konoha's aid if Iron forces were cutting down Konoha trouble makers.

Same vice versa.

Hiruzen had offered a list of people to send letters to even for the possible Chunin Exams, as well as a likely list of candidates. Konoha's own forces would be about fifty to sixty people, most of them Genin. It wasn't the finalized number, but it was definitely something he could work with.

Mifune stroked his goatee for a bit. Truth be told, he was a little… leery of sending a missive to Ame to allow them to join in the Chunin Exams in Iron. He might end up having to sit next to Hanzo the Salamander.

His soul still screamed for justice.

Mifune sighed softly and began to write up the messages. The other villages that Konoha wouldn't be able to host because they weren't going to come were the first of the villages that Mifune sent out a few messenger hawks to.

Suna was next, as was Kiri.

Next, Mifune looked over the maps he had, each with a thumbtack marking the area of the lesser hidden villages.

Oto he chose to invite, Ame he invited after a bit of initial hesitation, Taki he invited, and even Hoshi got an invite. Though he sent a subtle reminded to Hoshi's leader that by claiming to be the Hoshikage, their leader might start some trouble with some of the big five's leaders.

Trouble that Iron would punish Hoshi for because they were the ones that started it.

Mifune sent out all the letters, inviting the various villages for the Chunin Selection Exams to be held in five months. He then sent out various members of his Samurai to speak with hotels, restaurants, etc. They had guests they needed to accommodate, guests that would pay money.

And major events always brought money that he could use to further his army's training and equipment.

He sat back in his chair, looking over various reports on his desk once more.

Yugao's team

Naruto followed his sensei, racing along the trees with his teammates flanking him. He could hear soft giggles from Hinata every so often, a light red dusting on her face,

Yugao was practically glowing and couldn't stop smiling.

Naruto was tempted to ask what she was so damned happy about, but Choji touched his arm and shook his head.

Best leave it alone.

The boys would have told him if he asked, but they were still asleep and wouldn't be awake for some time.

They traveled through the daylight, making their way to the contact's home. The governor of the wealthy city on the border had asked for the Shinobi, but when they got to the town, Yugao told them to fan out.

Naruto headed outside to the forest that surrounded the small town. He needed to learn the layout of the forest. He had a flare with him, just in case he encountered the bandits. Unfortunately, several hours later left him with nothing, no action and no bandits.

Yugao made an executive decision for the Konoha group to camp out in the forest, allowing them to hopefully draw attention more to themselves.

The first night, Naruto took first watch, allowing him to get the boys to disappear without Yugao's watchful eyes seeing them. Hinata had second watch, Choji had third, and Yugao had last. Choji and Hinata were to swap places the next night, then Hinata and Naruto.

After the first few days, with only managing to find small pockets of bandits but not the main camp, Yugao had decided to take the first watch. Something drew her attention away from her team and she walked some distance away, her sword in hand.

She had seen silhouettes in Naruto's tent, but she didn't have enough time to do anything about it before they disappeared.

It was quite possible they were the boys that Naruto had mentioned.

Yugao ended up coming to a small clearing where more than a few bandits were at, surrounding her. She raised her eyebrow, noticing they seemed to have some basic Shinobi training in stealth. It wasn't bad at all.

Her eyes the focused on the ringing sound of a sword being cleared from its sheath and she watched a man in a pair of black ANBU pants with his chest being bare walk out. He had mousy brown hair and dark eyes that seemed to be pools of blackness. In his hand was a short ninjato. He stood a head taller than Yugao and had the toned muscles of a skilled swordsmen, one that was based on speed and precision than strength.

Yugao's ANBU mind brought up a mental report from the bingo book. "Kiri's Butcher, Higashi Hozuki. A-ranked Missing Nin, wanted for murder, arson, assassination, cannibalism, rape, theft, defacement of both private and government property, indecent exposure, selling village secrets, and selling troop movements to the enemy. Candidate for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, denied due to violent, uncontrolled outbursts of anger over little things. Bounty of 30 Million Ryo."

The laugh from the man was sickening, like nails on a chalk board to Yugao as she took up her stance. "Someone has done their homework, too bad you won't be able to do more once I'm done with you."

"And where is your partner Fugaku Yuki?" Yugao asked.

The man grinned evilly, "Oh he's taking care of your brats."

With Naruto

Something was wrong. Naruto had been awake when Yugao had wandered off. He knew he should have gotten some sleep, but he decided against it. He heard footsteps, heavy ones. The whistling of the air told Naruto he needed to move.

Naruto flipped to his feet and in the same movement, rolled out of his tent just as it was torn through by a heavy mass.

Naruto had his claws in hand and he summoned three Rock Clones. "Raid!" he roared out, wakening his two teammates that hadn't been in the path of the hammer swing.

Naruto sized up his opponent. He had to be a full two feet over the three Genin, putting the man close to seven feet tall. In both hands, he held an obsidian colored hammer/axe combo, the bladed edge of the axe which had almost cleaved through Naruto, was stained red with the blood of past enemies. The thing was about six feet in length and looked to be hefty in weight.

Naruto would never be able to swing it that well.

His opponent was bulky, he was as wide as Naruto was tall. muscles and fat making the man quite big. He had spikey brown hair that came to the middle o his back and eyes a deeper blue than Naruto's.

The man hefted his hammer in both hands and swung at Hinata's tent, but she flipped out in much the same way that Naruto had done soon cart wheeling over to Naruto and landing, ready to fight despite in just a pair of shorts and a dark tank top.

Choji moved over while the man's attention had been on Hinata. He stood in front hands at the ready, looking to sumo wrestle the bigger man, even as he stood in just a pair of green pants without a shirt on.

Naruto inhaled slowly as he readied himself. His claws wouldn't do a damned thing to that hammer, not without getting snapped. His boys were out hunting or goofing off. It'd still be ten minutes, at best, before Raw or Spike got back first.

Raw was purely assault and professional. He hunted and then came back. Spike was the Hunter of the group, he'd run his prey into the ground.

The others would be either still trying to get food or horsing around.

"Go!" Naruto said. No words were spoken between him and his teammates. Words were unnecessary at this point. Choji dropped down and Naruto leapt off his back. His clones charged around the sides.

Hinata moved in, head low and arms back, moving light on her feet to attack the bigger man.

Choji expanded his hands before charging in, bringing up the rear.

Naruto landed on the hammer, one of his rock clones taking a hit to slow it long enough for him to make the jump and move over the bigger man. Naruto slashed his claws down his back with Hinata sliding between the man's spread legs, tapping three points on either leg. The man moved to swing his hammer again, but Choji was there, grabbing the head and crying out in pain as the swing broke a few ribs.

Even still, Choji held on, gritting his teeth and digging his heels into the ground as he tried to over power the larger man.

Hinata and Naruto moved as one, swaying around as the man tried to turn, tried to bring his hammer down upon them. Naruto and Hinata tried to do as much damage as possible, but Jyuken and his claws were not able to do as much damage as they wished as quickly as they wished.

The man brought his foot up and kicked Choji in the ribs, twice, getting Choji to cry out in pain and relinquish the hammer. With the weapon free, the man bashed Choji away with the hammer end, making Choji crash into a tree.

The swing hadn't been hard enough to kill him, but Choji was undoubtedly hurting.

The man turned and swung at them, and Naruto ducked under it while Hinata cartwheeled away again.

Naruto swayed back, trying to slice into the man's meaty sausage like fingers and being unable to.

The man tried to cleave Hinata in half, but she evaded, just barely. The man then shoved forward with the hammer, hitting her in the sternum and making her cry out from the force of the hit.

Naruto was barely able to dodge the axe coming for him, but was unable to dodge the hammer that hit him square in the chest and sent him flying through several tree branches. Naruto landed harshly, feeling like he had just went ten rounds with a grizzly bear and had lost in the first round.

Something wet and sticky was sliding down his face too.

With Yugao

Yugao dodged another slash at her back, feeling the blade cut through her ANBU armor a bit, but not enough to cut into her skin. She beheaded another two bandits in a single swing. She slung out a kunai and embedded it into the forehead of another turning and driving her sword into the gut of a fourth.

The bandits had decided to attack en masse, no matter how much she flared her killing intent. The threat of being eaten by their leader was on their mind, not to mention the prize of 'getting to fuck her ass third' as Higashi had said.

She was good, one of the best. She could proudly say her rank would definitely be at an A-ranked Nin. She could go toe to toe with someone like Higashi, or his partner and have better than average odds of coming out on top.

But a good thirty to fifty bandits were going to be taxing on her skills. Then she had to deal with Higashi, and finally Fugaku before her team was killed.

She really didn't want to join Kakashi at looking at that monument.

Yugao dodged a slash from Higashi and tried to stab the sonofabitch in his throat, but he leapt back before she had the chance and she was forced to block some Shuriken.

She stabbed another Bandit through the sternum and this time threw him and her sword into the air. Her fingers flew through the hand signs for one of her most used techniques. She didn't call it out as she inhaled, paused to let the fire stew in her stomach a little bit, before she breathed out a fireball that engulfed another five bandits.

She caught the hilt of her sword as the bandit was dropping and turned, slashing it outwards and decapitating another bandit.

She turned, another slash coming across her back and her armor fell, just barely hanging on her shoulders as she cut the arm off of a bandit. She paused long enough to wrench the armor and the shirt underneath off.

All she had on was her ANBU pants and boots with a dark purple bra that matched her hair.

She heard the lecherous sounds and whistles, calls from the bandits, but that didn't matter as she put her second hand on her sword and charged in to deal with the fools.

She was ANBU, showing a little skin wouldn't stop her from doing her job.

With Naruto

"Hey asshole!" Naruto called out, throwing a kunai with all his might. The mountain of a man turned away from Choji, taking a kunai to the side of his thigh with a grunt. The man was smart enough to just leave it there.

Naruto swore as he charged in. He had actually been aiming for the man's throat, hoping to take him out that way. His aim with anything but a spear really did suck.

Naruto charged forward and slid under the hammer swing, on his knees and moving between the man's knees. Naruto cocked his fist back and swung with all of his might.

Right into the man's groin.

There was a small grunt from the man as his face turned red and he dropped to his knees, his hammer clutched in one hand and the goods clutched in the other.

Naruto made it to Choji and scooped the bigger boy up and leapt over the big man, kicking off the man's head and landed with Choji over by Hinata who was struggling to get back up.

Naruto panted a bit as he watched the downed man glaring at him.

"You're bleeding." Choji said suddenly as he managed to regain himself a bit. "You never bleed, not even when we spar against Sensei."

It was true, the boys kept Naruto's skin from being cut, no matter how sharp the blade. Naruto could still get bruised by the strike, even have a bone broken. But the boys wouldn't let him bleed out.

Naruto reached up for his forehead and his hand came away crimson. "I've had worse." He said as he stood up.

A damn bear had almost taken his head off once.

Naruto cracked his neck a little bit and readied his claws once more. "I don't suppose I could get your name could I?" Naruto asked the big man that was recovering.

The man cracked his neck before he opened his mouth, showing his tongue had been removed, making him a mute. The man then went through a short series of one-handed seals, surprising the three Genin. He swung his hammer back and slammed it into the ground. Hundreds of long needles, made from ice sprang to form around the three and they all rushed to evade them, Naruto making a clone to throw Choji while he and Hinata leapt away.

Choji moved with the throw, moving towards the big man. Choji's hands clamped down on the man's hands on the hammer and Choji dug his heels into the ground once more. He grit his teeth as he held on tight, pulling at the hammer to try and move the man.

Choji roared out before he drove his head forward at the same time he yanked the man foreward. Choji's head slammed into the man's sternum,, making the man give another grunt.

With Yugao

Yugao was now in the depth of her element, butchering the idiots that had come to face her, wanting the prize their leader had promised them. She wasn't giving them the chance anymore. Every motion was precise without a single motion wasted. Every swing of her sword cut down her foes.

Her face was a blank mask, coated in the crimson blood of her opponents.

She brought up her sword to match with the Ninjato of Higashi. She began to match him stroke for stroke, ignoring the idiots around her trying to slip a blade between her ribs.

She deflected another blow, angling her katana so that his sword scraped down the side. She punched the bastard in the nose, feeling it give a satisfying snap as it broke. Still, he whipped his spare hand out with a kunai, aimed for her belly.

She dodged backwards and launched a kunai at him from her quickly depleting pouch. He dodged an another bandit ended up taking it to the head.

Yugao dipped to one knee and yanked a longer, thicker kunai. This one was a custom make that was more for close quarters combat than the standard kunai. She deflected the Ninjato and stepped forward, swiping with her longer katana.

The edge along the kunai blazed red, channeling her element into it as she sliced another bandit and continued to attack Higashi with her sword.

Sparks flew from the contact the blades made. The bandits were definitely thinned, being only half in number. She snapped out with a kick, catching a bandit with the heel of her boot in the groin, making him drop only for her to take his head off with her kunai.

She heard the sounds of flesh being ripped from bone, but paid it no mind as her danger senses weren't going off in that direction. Instead, she focused on the area around her, blocking out the cries of Demon from the bandit and the sickening snapping of bones.

She'd take whatever help she could get at the moment as long as it was friendly.

With Naruto

Naruto weaved around with Choji, using his forearms to block the kicks aimed for Choji's ribs before retaliating with a slice of his own at the larger man's legs.

Naruto's arms felt rattled, possibly even broke but he didn't disengage from the big man as he fought to keep Choji safe. Hinata danced around the three of them, trying to shut down the man's chakra.

But according to her, it was like his chakra points were all jumbled up without rhyme or reason.

The man dodged backwards, just as a black mass came flying over him, long claws raking over his chest as he literally threw Choji away and kicked Naruto at the same time.

Naruto rolled away and watched as Hinata leapt away.

In front of Naruto was Raw. Raw was serpentine in appearance, sort of like if a black mamba was to grow a set of long thin arms with razor sharp claws and its head was supported on a neck like a human's. Raw hissed at the big mountain of a man, rising up on his tail and waving it around. Black, bone like protrusions stuck out along Raw's back and tail.

Drool dripped from Raw's mouth as he hissed at the man, and it hit the ground and began to bubble and sizzle like it was being melted.

Naruto stood up and picked up one of the two twins. He was glad Raw was there, even though he had wished he had Raw's twin, Grid, there as well. Raw sat on Naruto's shoulder, his tail wrapping around the blonde's neck, even as Raw hissed out at the big man still, sounding quite pissed.

"I know buddy." Naruto said and cracked his neck. "Let's do this."

Naruto raced in, moving low once more. He dodged under the big man's hammer swing. Naruto leapt up, and swiped at the man who leaned back from Naruto's strike. Raw shot forward and raked claws down over the pectoral muscles, exposing bone and bleeding the man far worse than what Naruto's claws had done.

The man tried to kick Naruto but the blonde dodged to the side, aiming a slash at the man's wrist while Raw raked his claws over the man's legs, stripping the flesh down to the bone once more.

This was how Naruto fought. He fought with Raw acting as back-up and the two moved as water and moved as one.

Naruto was knocked back by the hammer and he winced, feeling several ribs crack from the blow. Without Grid there to act as the Shield, he was at a severe disadvantage to his main fighting style.

Naruto wiped the blood from his eyes that was causing him to squint a little bit. "Raw, do it."

Raw slithered down along Naruto's arm, turning into a black mist as he reached Naruto's hand.

Raw's form began to lengthen until Naruto grabbed the black mist and solidified it.

Naruto stood tall once more with an ivory spear in his hand, longer than he was tall and with a serpent's head at the tip of the spear, with the point coming out of it. This was another ability of Raw, the Spear of the Group.

"Let's go Raw." Naruto said as he charged in once more with his best weapon.

With Yugao

Yugao was in heated combat, especially as he opponent kept turning into water as she tried to cut into him. Sure, her kunai turned a bit of him into steam when she cut him but it was still ridiculous as she fought against the tricky bastard.

Yugao flipped away, throwing the Kunai into the man behind her. She landed behind him as he fell back and grabbed her kunai and turned, cutting into the idiot behind her then. She rolled forward, feeling the cut along her back. It was mostly superficial but began to bleed anyways. Her bra hung loosely on her shoulders and she just slipped that off as well.

She couldn't afford to have her movement hindered by the fabric and her breasts were perky and firm enough that they wouldn't cause too much problems for her.

They'd still cause problems, but damn it, she was a professional. She wasn't going to let it stop her.

She turned to face off against Higashi again, noticing the distinct lack of bandits now. A black blur slammed into Higashi's chest head first, knocking the Hozuki back on to the ground.

"**TANKY SMASH!" **The diminutive creature on Higashi's chest brought both fists high over its head and slammed them down, causing a meaty, wet sound as the sternum was crushed under the creature's fists and the organs were liquefied.

Yugao watched with trepidation as the creature got off of Higashi. It was a little thing, and seemed rather dumb too by the dullard look on its face. "**Me Tanky!" **the creature said pounding his bloodied chest. Undoubtedly, she was looking at the creature that had thinned the ranks of the bandits.

Yugao put her kunai away and wiped her face. "Well Tanky, I'm Yugao." She said.

"**Nar-Nar friend!" **Tank said gleefully.

Yugao moved over, the creature seemed to be quite docile. She gently reached down and pet Tank on his head. "Nar-Nar huh?" she asked. It would seem she needed to have a talk with her student.

Yugao swiped her blade out and cut Higashi's head off. "Come along Tanky" she told him and began to walk off, picking up the remains of her clothes. She wasn't that far from Naruto's fight.

End

A/N: I got nothing today


End file.
